Award-Winning Article!
The Association of Educational Publishers (also known as EdPress) has named Diana Hess’s May/June 2007 Social Education article best article in the learned category published in an educational periodical during that year. Hess’s article, "From Banished to Brother Outsider, Miss Navajo to An Inconvenient Truth: Documentary Films as Perspective-Laden Narratives," explores the use of documentary films in the social studies classroom. Dr. Hess is an associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. EdPress is the leading group of educational publishers in the United States.
Download a free pdf of the article.

Download Podcasts of Annual Conference Sessions
Thanks to the generosity of ABC-CLIO and the University of South Florida, NCSS is pleased to announce that podcasts of selected keynote and featured sessions from the 2007 NCSS Annual Conference are available for download from iTunes U.
Podcasts and other highlights from 2007 Annual Conference

A newly published editorial appearing in The Christian Science Monitor speaks to our NCSS mission eloquently. “Do Graduates Understand Citizenship?” posits this title question while reminding readers of the fragile nature of our democracy. Read this article by Diane Cameron. click here.

NCSS Curriculum Standards for Social Studies Revision
The NCSS Standards Revision Task Force is continuing it's work on updating the NCSS Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and needs your input. Please see http://communities.ncss.org/standardsrevision for an update on the work of the task force, drafts of updates, and to provide feedback and comments to the task force.

Social Studies: Is it "History"? NCSS President Gayle Thieman and Past President Peggy Altoff articulate the devastating impact of NCLB on social studies teaching in an article published in the District Admiminstration March 2008 issue.
Read the Article

Lesson: Election Choices 2008!
Click here for a free lesson plan "Making Choices: An Exploration of Political Preferences" recently published in Middle Level Learning. Students must choose between foods. Then they grapple with the complexities of presidential candidates' policy positions. The lesson uses summaries by ProCon.org, which tracks the candidates' statements on many controversial issues.

Virtual Congress needs your input!
Virtual Congress, an online computer game currently in development, will let students participate in a “virtual world” Congress that functions very much like the real one. The Center on Congress at Indiana University is creating this new learning environment to give students an insider’s view of representative democracy and help them understand their role as citizens. High school and college/university teachers are being asked for their opinions regarding this newest type of teaching tool.

Take the survey! Click Here to take survey

Learn more about Virtual Congress

How about writing on something other than a blackboard?
We're looking for great teacher-tested classroom ideas for NCSS Publications! Share your lesson plans and teaching ideas with social studies educators across the nation by submitting a manuscript.
Learn more about submitting manuscripts